It’s been fun to watch the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate this last week fight over the healthcare bill.
I imagine if you answer the phones for a member of Congress, you’re sick of it.
My in-box has been buzzing with e-mails from both sides. It’s silliness at its best.
The Republicans started a website called “Code Red” to track the votes in the House. A few minutes ago, the Democrats were about nines votes short of making the magical number of 216 to pass the bill. Of course, if the GOP said they were defeated, they could not raise money – so look for the person tracking the votes to hold back in the spirit of fundraising.
Fox News has a tally up that says the Democrats have the 216 votes needed to pass the bill.
I guess we’ll see.
If the GOP would have spent half as much energy on the 2006 and 2008 elections (and had some fiscal discipline and some decent leaders) they would not have been in this shape – and they would not be creating silly websites and sending out cranky e-mails.
One e-mail, from Barack Obama’s campaign told me to “Tell Rep. Rehberg who you’re fighting for” with a nice “Final March to Reform” banner on it. You could click on a link and send a letter to Rep. Rehberg to tell him to vote yes.
I want him to vote no, so there’s no need for me to write him. I wanted my Senators (Max Baucus and Jon Tester) to vote no, but they voted yes. Baucus got a kick-back for Libby. Although I feel for the asbestos victims of Libby, why can’t this section of the bill pass as a stand alone measure and not look so much like a buy-off for Tester and Baucus. Besides, one would think someone as “powerful” as Baucus claims to be could get anything Libby needed.
Considering the lack of production of Tester (plus several broken campaign promises) and the extracurricular activities of Baucus, neither one deserves to be reelected.
Another e-mail from Obama told me, “I wanted to take a moment to thank you directly for the outstanding work you’ve been doing as part of Organizing for America’s Final March for Reform. I can tell you that your voice is heard in Washington every day. I see how your efforts are moving us toward victory.”
You’re welcome, Mr. President, but I really want you to lose this one.
Depending on which poll you read, about half of the American people don’t want this reform. I am with the half that doesn’t want it done this way.
I have two well-known health insurance policies (one from my job and one from my wife’s job) and we still pay for a lot for things that are not covered, so health insurance is one thing that is screwed up. I blame Baucus as many of his current and former staff work in the healthcare industry.
It’s kind of funny, but the Democrats had a chance to ram everything they wanted down our throats, but infighting and poor leadership caused them to lose the supermajority in the Senate. They seemed drunk on power – just like the Republicans were a few years ago.
We may get healthcare reform, but it won’t be pretty and it won’t be cheap. Sadly, our kids and grandkids will be paying for it, so I’d like to thank them.
The Western Word 
Jon Tester is marching in lock step with his social-justice boss man, Barack Obama, hell-bent on crushing Montana small businesses and causing an unprecedented transfer of wealth from the private sector to the government sector. Tester’s business-toxic policies and his socialist agenda threaten to destroy the future of Montana small business.
Tester’s mechanism to effect this transfer is his healthcare fiasco, which will push Montana small businesses past the point of no return, and he fully understands this. The tax burden Jon Tester has levied upon Montana small businesses will be overwhelming and unsustainable. Tester’s crippling legislation will make it much more difficult to start and run a small business in Montana, and the end result will be less innovation and far fewer viable business startups.
In response to complaints from Montana business owners, Jon Tester is offering “tax breaks.” But faced with bankruptcy and ultimate business insolvency, Montana business owners are ignoring these misguided and deceptive “tax-breaks.” In fear of Tester’s acidic government programs and socialist vision, Montana business owners are running for the hills and refusing to hire new workers.
What good are tax breaks when the business environment—burdened by Tester’s stifling legislation—has grown so toxic that it is impossible to make a profit in the first place? Since there will be no profits to tax, Tester’s supposed “tax breaks” are meaningless, and any savvy business owner understands this basic law of business.
Jon Tester, and most socialists for that matter, do not understand this simple concept because government entities never have to worry about making a profit—or breaking even. They are immune to and thus ignorant of the fundamental laws of business.
Democrats have a long-standing tradition of stuffing anti-business legislation down the throats of their constituents, but this time two critical factors are different:
1) The economy will not recover because of the overwhelming national debt burden
2) Jon Tester’s socialist agenda
Factor 1: The Economy
Traditionally, when democrats take control of the lawmaking process, they are quick to implement excessive redistribution programs that blindly impose additional tax burdens, all in the name of “social justice.” This has two adverse effects. First, freedom and innovation and free enterprise die to some degree. Second, an already over-bloated government swells ever larger, further choking the private sector, which, ironically, it relies upon to sustain it (with tax dollars).
In times past, the Democrats’ ill-conceived wealth redistribution programs were not as business-toxic because the economy was strong enough to sustain them and recover. But things have changed dramatically this time around. The national debt is so high that the economy has lost its resiliency.
We can no longer deny it: we are in a DEPRESSION, not a RECESSION, and this time we are not bouncing back, at least not any time soon. Democrats have ignored this as they have ignored the national public opinion polls, which indicate that Americans are strongly against their power-grab programs. In defiance of their constituents, Jon Tester and his fellow Democrats have charged ahead blindly with their massive—and highly toxic—redistribution programs.
Factor #2: Jon Tester is an angry socialist with a redistribution agenda.
His anger is focused directly on small business and the American way of life. He plans to see the traditional American business sector—the backbone of America itself—totally dismantled and destroyed.
Jon Tester plans to transform America. He intends to replace our democracy with a European-style socialist government where he and his Democrat cohorts will remain in office in perpetuity, watching over our shoulders as we pass from government-controlled cradle to government-controlled grave.
In Tester’s distorted worldview, the best way to accomplish this transformation is to destroy small business.
Along with the failed American economy, Tester’s healthcare tax missile will deliver the second punch of a one-two knockout combination designed to incapacitate small business-and the American way of life—forever.
Jon Tester’s next target for a socialist missile: The American Financial System
Steve: Tester won this seat because of a third party candidate. The majority of Montanans voted for a conservative. Tester has done nothing to gain another term. He has taxed Montanans through fees and the like as a state senator and now he has voted with Obama, Pelosi and Reed to give us Obamacare. Thanks for your comments. -JtB